1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to imaging systems and workstations for medical applications, and particularly the generation, processing and displaying of endoscopic images on a display device, e.g., a television monitor, during an examination.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
There currently exists a clinical information management system known as Endoworks (hereinafter “EW system” manufactured by Olympus America, Inc.) that provides functionality for automating the endoscopy lab by managing patient examination data at different phases of patient care.
Particularly, the EW system, designed for the practice of endoscopy, is a comprehensive, real-time, interactive clinical information management system with integrated reporting features, that manages and organizes clinical information, endoscopic images and related patient data, at various levels of detail, for creating efficiencies and facilitating functions performed by users of endoscopic equipment, e.g., physicians, nurses, clinicians, etc.
As shown in FIG. 1, integral to the performance of an endoscopy procedure is the real-time presentation of endoscopic images and related examination data (e.g., patient ID, practitioner information, endoscope ID type). Typically, endoscopic image signals of an examined subject are obtained from a solid state (e.g., charge coupled devices, CCD) imager device provided with the scope device 25. The generated output scope image signals are input to a video processor device 40 where the scope (CCD imager output) signals are converted by a converter means (not shown) to a video signal, e.g., according to NTSC, PAL or like color image display formats, for display and real-time viewing on an RGB display device 20, e.g., a television monitor.
In a particular implementation of the EW system, as shown in FIG. 1, video image signals output of a video processor device 40 receiving live endoscopic images are processed and communicated to an EW imaging workstation 50 (imaging “node”) where the video image signals are captured and further displayed in a separate monitor, e.g., imaging workstation display such as a VGA graphics monitor 55, which may be a scaled version of the RGB monitor with aspect ratio preserved, and providing an image capture screen. As will be explained in greater detail herein, upon initiation by the practitioner, the video image signals may be captured, processed (digitized) and stored in a memory at the imaging node. Not only are still images available for capture, but live moving image clips are further capable of being captured and stored in an EW system memory or server storage device (not shown). The EW system imaging node 50 particularly implements image management functionality enabling a user to annotate, label, import, export, and enhance the quality of images, including the ability to manage, record, store and export live video clips. It is understood that every image/image clip captured are associated (i.e., linked) with the particular patient and examination and capable of being accessed according to entry of a key, e.g., the patient's name.
As further shown in FIG. 1, there is provided a block diagram depicting the endoscopy system 10 for generating, processing and displaying of real-time endoscopic images. The system comprises an endoscope device 25 connected via a connector device 30 to the video processor device 40, for example, an Olympus CV-160 device. As mentioned the endoscopic device includes a solid state CCD imager for generating real-time frame image signals, eg., simultaneously generated RGB signals, which are processed by the video processor device to generate real-time video signals of the image for display on an RGB monitor 20. As shown the video processor is further connected via a communications interface (not shown), to the EW imaging node 50 comprising, for example, a personal computer (PC) or workstation 50, including a processor 60, a video frame capture board 65 for capturing the real-time video image signals 12 and digitizing the image, and, a memory 70 device for storing the captured, digitized image, and including a video display driver element for further displaying a whole or scaled version of the image, for example, on a second monitor, e.g., VGA monitor device 55. In one embodiment, the processor implemented at the imaging node 50 includes a Matrox Orion (available from Matrox Imaging Group) which is a frame grabber board that captures standard analog composite, RGB and Y/C video in NTSC/PAL formats from the video processor 40. The captured field are stored in the memory 70 of the imaging node. A graphics controller (not shown) provided with the Matrox board is provided for handling VGA display output and includes a graphics overlay and video scaling.
More particularly, the image capture board is further capable of capturing images from any of the following video input signal sources: Standard NTSC (or optional PAL) composite, component RGB or Y/C video (optional depending on model). The board is capable of receiving and processing (e.g., digitizing) Standard Definition (SD), for example, at a resolution of 768 pixels by 576 lines in size (from a full PAL frame; a full NTSC frame is 640 pixels by 480 lines), and at a color depth of 8 bits for each of the RGB components. There is sufficient capability to capture full screen images. The board is further able to provide output of both RGB and NTSC composite interlaced video signal 11 back to the video processor 40 for display on the RGB monitor 20; however, PAL-compatible output are also supported. The board 65 is further capable of providing an image signal 11′. As described in greater detail herein, to support the overlay of graphics information (including text such as patient information data) on the video input signal 12, the capture board 60 is capable of masking out any desired portion of the video input signal. The image capture board additionally permits the simultaneous connection of multiple video input signal types (such as RGB and composite) and be able to switch between them under software control.
In a current embodiment of the EW system 10, communications are handled between a video processing device, e.g., CV-160 available from Olympus Medical Systems Corp., and other legacy processors. All processors currently are configured for handling Standard Definition (SD) images. Within the current configuration of the EW system, the CV-160 video processing device and other legacy processors forward SD images to the EW systems processor device.
For future implementations it is contemplated that state-of-the-art current imager devices providing High Definition (HD) image signals be implemented.
However, as the current EW system implementations only handle SD images, i.e., a Standard Definition signal must be displayed on the RGB display Monitor 20 when in a typical operating mode due to the inability of the Matrox Orion image capture card to capture and process HD image signals, a more versatile solution is desirable.
It would thus be highly desirable to provide a system patch that would enable the system to continually display HD signal images on the RGB HDTV monitor during typical operating modes for an endoscopic or like medical procedure, notwithstanding the fact that the current image capture card is unable to capture HD image signals.